has been analyzed by several key social theorists who highlight its dual nature and contradictions:

Major Theoretical Perspectives

Max Weber

• Era: Early 20th century
• View: Connected worldly asceticism to both liberating autonomy and ruthless domination[1][4]
• Key insight: Identified rationalization as both systemic and dangerous

Georg Simmel

• Era: Early 20th century
• View: Explored the concept of “otherness” in modern society while normalizing the stranger[1][4]

Shmuel Eisenstadt

• Era: Mid-20th century
• View: Celebrated progress while acknowledging modernity’s capacity for barbarity[1]

Talcott Parsons

• Era: Mid-20th century
• View: Praised American community while overlooking modernity’s fragmentations[1]

Jeffrey Alexander

• Era: Contemporary
• View: Argues that modernity’s contradictions should be accepted rather than resolved[1][4]
• Key insight: Civil inclusion and anti-civil exclusion are inherently intertwined

Zygmunt Bauman

• Era: Late 20th century
• View: Critiqued how consumption has dominated Western life, showing persistent pessimism about modernity[3]

The common thread among these theorists is their recognition of modernity’s Janus-faced character, simultaneously promising progress while bringing suffering[1][4].

Sources
[1] The Dark Side of Modernity – Yale Sociology https://sociology.yale.edu/publications/dark-side-modernity
[2] [PDF] the meaning of modernity – John Dwyer https://jdwyer.info.yorku.ca/files/2015/10/DWYER_MODERN_AGE_LECTURES.pdf
[3] [PDF] Bauman and contemporary sociology https://www.asau.ru/files/pdf/1632927.pdf
[4] The Dark Side of Modernity | Wiley https://www.wiley.com/en-us/The+Dark+Side+of+Modernity-p-9780745665061
[5] The Dark Side of Modernity Theme in Beyond Good and Evil https://www.litcharts.com/lit/beyond-good-and-evil/themes/the-dark-side-of-modernity
[6] [PDF] Kara Abdolmaleki – ERA – University of Alberta https://era.library.ualberta.ca/items/b380ff3b-c1ca-45f3-a841-b7900ea06390/view/759baca4-a7ef-4cd2-b2d6-55e7344a071d/Abdolmaleki_Kara_201808_PhD.pdf
[7] The Dark Side of Modernity – Document – Gale Academic OneFile https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA451310124&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=0277335X&p=AONE&sw=w
[8] Beyond Good and Evil Quotes | Explanations with Page Numbers https://www.litcharts.com/lit/beyond-good-and-evil/quotes
[9] The Dark Side of Modernity by Jeffrey C. Alexander – Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16692081-the-dark-side-of-modernity